Expert Series: Jonny Bowden The Rogue Nutritionist

Renowned nutrition expert Dr. Jonny Bowden didn’t necessarily have a childhood interest in healthy eating, or a teenage obsession with weight to thank for his career choice. Instead, drunken, drug-filled parties of the 70s, Woodstock and adventures touring in a rock band are what ultimately led to Bowden’s transformation.

“I was at one point addicted to every single drug out there,” said Bowden. “Nutrition was the furthest thing from my mind.”

But it wouldn’t be far from his mind for long. While touring in a rock band, Bowden often encountered new, unique people. In one city, Bowden met some actors who stayed in shape and worked out – a concept that was at the time quite foreign to Bowden.

Fascinated, Bowden decided to try his own hand at exercise. It wasn’t long before he found that his true interest in life went far beyond late-night dive bars and rock band groupies.

“The transformation in my life was so profound and so dramatic, I became kind of a zealot about it,” said Bowden.

He soon enrolled in a personal training program and got his first certification.

“I’d never been so interested in something,” said Bowden – adding that over the next few years he amassed a total of six personal training degrees.

And his career blew up from there. He obtained two related degrees, in psychology and nutrition.

The Rogue Nutritionist

He quickly gained notoriety for his off-the-mainstream attitude about nutrition, earning him the title “The Rogue Nutritionist.”

“I like to fight back when I feel like people are given bad advice,” said Bowden.

“I am not the smartest guy on the block; I wouldn’t even consider myself an elite,” said Bowden. “But I do think I have a talent for translation. I think I can learn what scientists have to offer and translate them into words that everyone can understand.”

Nutrition & Overall Health

For Bowden, nutrition and overall health means much more than just calories in, calories out. He said there’s no black-and-white answers when it comes to weight loss and wellness.

“I think that people so desperately want ‘the answer’ that they avoid any kind of nuances or complexity in the analyses of answers,” said Bowden.

Bowden said to be truly healthy, we must improve all facets of our lives, including spending time with friends and family, relieving stress, listening to music and connecting with our spirituality.

“It’s the X factors,” said Bowden. “There’s a lot more than diet and exercise that goes into making people happy and healthy. Look and find those things.”

Food Addiction

And while embracing all the factors that make you healthy is important, Bowden said one of the biggest challenges people face is a problem he understands well after overcoming his own addictions during the Woodstock era.

“Food companies literally engineer food to be irresistible,” said Bowden. “Getting off these foods is like kicking an addiction.”

Caitlin is the Diet-to-Go community manager and an avid runner. She is passionate about engaging with others online and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. She believes moderation is key, and people will have the most weight loss success if they engage in common-sense healthy eating and fitness.